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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. rest — what's left
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — a price
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rest — a break
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. tear — from crying
  11. game — wild animals
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. game — a match
  14. cold — an illness
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pass — a permit
  17. charge — electricity
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. tear — to rip
  23. shower — to wash
  24. rest — what's left

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com